Unrestrained Flag Fest

The beginning of Vergessene Fahnen

"In the first place, the countless banners, flags, pennants, streamers, scarves and hats, the many creations of 'partyotism' have given expression to what can be mainly observed in young people, particularly women: a liberation from the eternal German 'self-mistrust’, the notorious pronouncement of suspicions against yourself ...".

With:

The above quote is from Reinhard Mohr of the German magazine Spiegel. The World Cup football led to Germans no longer thinking that showing their flag was scary. Other newspapers and magazines too, such as Die Zeit and Das Parlament reported on this unrestrained display of flags and the renewed use of the flag as national symbol.

But if flags are still fluttering six months after the World Cup, Florian Thalhofer would like to know why. He made the film Vergessene Fahnen about the owners of these flags. The exhibition Vergessene Fahnen is on view from 30 March to 11 May 2007 at Mediamatic.